Piano Miniature No. 11, “For Syria” (2012)

Notes:

Throughout 2012, Bashar Al Assad’s regime has been murdering men women and children who have been asking for change in Syria. A recent news report displayed dozens of children found dead in Homs. The reporter commented on how they looked peaceful “as though sleeping”.

A few days later I sat down to write a new piano miniature in response to a commission from the International Beethoven Project. Their theme was “revolution” and the new miniature was to be inspired by the Eroica Symphony, Beethoven’s most revolutionary (and politically laced) work. It seemed natural for me to respond by commenting on the current revolution and loss of life in Syria. The result is a simple little elegy called For Syria in which the piano’s singing line is a lullaby for those sleeping children: a lullaby that they have been robbed of the chance to hear.